Friday, September 29, 2017

Devastated by the
death of her husband, Colin, in the London bombings on July 7, 2005, Katherine
Murphy-Whithorn builds a wall around her heart determined to never let anyone
in again. Settling in to a comfortable routine, her life becomes mundane, until
five years later when someone from her rebellious past returns to the city and
begins stalking her.

As the curtain
falls on 2010 her first love, Jared Martin, walks back into Katherine´s life.
Despite him being her first love, he must tear down the barrier she´s created
to protect herself. Finally seeing a second chance of a life with him,
Katherine couldn´t be happier until another cruel twist of fate strikes. The
helicopter returning from the Alpha Ecosse platform, on which Jared is a
passenger, ditches in the North Sea. Can he survive the ordeal? Will they get
their chance for happiness? Or is fate still not done its dirty deeds?
Katherine’s stalker may have his own agenda.

Prologue

1st December 2010

The
ScotRail service to Aberdeen pulled away from the platform at Stonehaven. The
next stop would be his destination. As the train accelerated, the carriage
swayed from side to side. The action reminded him of his mum rocking him after
a bad dream. He drifted into a light slumber. When the compartment he was in
crossed through a switch, it lurched waking him.

Less than
thirty minutes to go. He settled back but was too excited to relax. When the
Girdle Ness Lighthouse came into view, he knew he was almost back to the place
he was born.

New, to
him, construction dotted the landscape. Fresh graffiti adorned the stone
parapets of the bridge over the River Dee. The Mitchell Tower at Marischal
College, the clock tower of the Aberdeen Town House and the Salvation Army
Citadel, vied for attention over the tops of the cluster of newer buildings.

He fooled
the medical staff at the secure forensic unit in the south of England. After
feigning rehabilitation, they released him into the community but he didn’t
stay there long. He did a runner. He had unfinished business in the north east
of Scotland.

Adrenalin
coursed through him. Giddy with excitement, it was hard for him to remain calm.
He shook his hands to try to stem some of the fidgetiness. Now, he was back in
Aberdeen where it all began. How much of the city would he recognize? What
changed since his departure?

Were the
authorities looking for him yet? He would have to act normal so as not to
attract attention. Stepping off, he adjusted his Fedora and strode across the
concourse to the exit. Diesel fumes hung in the air and caught in the back of
his throat. He coughed.

With the
exception of the Union Square shopping complex adjacent to the railway station,
Guild Street stayed more or less unchanged. Some of the storefronts in the
granite buildings transformed, but overall, not a huge difference since he
left.

The
pavement ended at Market Street forcing him to cross over the road. He
continued eastward. The location he sought should be nearby. He stopped for a
breather – pressed his back against the building. The ships that supplied and
supported the offshore oil industry occupied the available berths on this side
of the harbour. Through a gap, the ferry to Lerwick and the terminal were
visible on the far side.

The familiar
Maritime Museum dominated the head of Shore Brae. Beyond that, the artery
curved and became Shiprow. The cobbled road surface and pavement were difficult
to traverse. Even the larger stones nearer the buildings were uneven. When he
rounded the corner at Provost Ross’s House, another well-known building peeked
out. He had come so far now, he couldn’t go back. He strode with purpose up the
hill.

The
Aberdeen Town House clock tower stretched above the roofline but that was the
place he sought. Nestled between Henry’s Bar and the pedestrianized portion of
Shiprow stood the As the Pages Turn bookshop.

When a
customer exited holding a carrier bag emblazoned with the same signage as over
the door, his heart skipped a beat. He hoped the establishment’s ownership
hadn’t changed. That would defeat the purpose of his returning to Aberdeen.

The
voices in his head only told him to come back. He had unfinished business with
the woman with ginger hair – the one with no soul – who ran the retail outlet
in front of him.

Now, to
find a suitable place to wait and watch and bide his time until the moment was
right.

Melanie
Robertson-King has always been a fan of the written word. Growing
up as an only child, her face was almost always buried in a book from the time
she could read. Her father was one of the thousands of Home Children sent to
Canada through the auspices of The Orphan Homes of Scotland, and she has been
fortunate to be able to visit her father’s homeland many times and even met the
Princess Royal (Princess Anne) at the orphanage where he was raised.